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(No Model.) V J. D. WHITTENBURG. FLOOD FENCE.

No. 326,931. Patented Sept. 22, 1885.

' mmaaea M 0 UNITED STATES PATENT @EETEE.

JONATHAN D. \VHITTENBURG, OF MARSHFIELD, MISSOURI.

FLOOD-FENCE.

ESPECIPICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 326,931, dated September 22, 1885.

Application filed June 26, 1885.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that L JONATHAN D. \VHrr- TENBURG, of Marshfield, in the county of \Vel ster and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flood- Fences; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention has relation to improvements in flood-fences.

The object of my invention is to produce a safety fioodfence which is so constructed that the wires connected to the central uprights of the fence-panels and to spikes in rear thereof will break and permit the said fence-panels to fall to the ground during a flood,and also to provide means whereby said fence-panels shall be securely held and prevented from being carried away by said flood by wires connecting the end uprights of each panel, and secured to pins or spikes having staples, said pins being driven into the ground.

The invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts,as will be her einafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawing the figure illustrates a perspective view of my improvements.

The letters A and A designate boards or rails having uprights a secured thereto, and constituting two panels of fencing, which I deem ample fully to illustrate my invention. These two panels are secured together by means ofa fastening-piece, b, at the meeting ends of the two top boards of the panels. In the rear of these panels, and opposite the cen tral uprights, I arrange posts or spikes c,which are driven into the ground, and in front, but at the sides of these spikes 0,1 also drive into the ground smaller spikes cc, between which are placed the outer ends of the props D, to lock said ends of the props in contact with the spikes c and preventlateral or horizontal dis- (Nu model.)

placement. The upper ends of these props are located against the central uprights and under the lower edge of the rails next to the top ones. Some little distance at the rear of the meeting edges of the two panels I drive into the ground another post or spike, c, which has located in its rear side a staple, d. Around the end uprights, and interposed be tween the two lower boards of the meeting ends of the two panels, I secure a stout wire, 2'. Said wire also passes through the staple of the post a, and has its free ends twisted together, and the said staple prevents the wire from slipping up or down on the post and be coming detached therefrom. The spikes c at the rear of the central uprights have secured to them wires or cords e and c. In connection with the central uprights, props, and spikes, I prefer to use what is termed broom-wire, as in case of a flood said wires will easily snap or break from pressure, which willcause the props D to become disengaged from their bearings, and at the same time the fasteningpiece I) will be wrenched off and the panels willfall to the ground, but said panels will be seen rely held and prevented from being can ried away by means of the wire attached to the post a and connected to the end uprights of the panels. The wires 6 and e are passed around the central uprights, and have their free ends twisted over the body of the wire and into notches near the upper ends of the props D.

It will readily be seen that, the spikes or posts being secured in the ground to aproper depth, and the props D and fence-panels se cured thereto by the wires above described, 1 am enabled by the construction and arrangement of the fence to save all the parts from being carried away by tloods, as they would be if they were not secured together as above set forth.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

In asafety flood-fence, the con'ibinatiomwith the fence-panels having the fasteningpiece b, of the spikes c c 0 secured in the ground, the notched props D, secured at one end between spikes 0, central uprights and notched props, I

the spikes, their other ends abutting against the central uprights and under thelower edge of the second rail from the top of the panels, the break wires or cords e e, secured to the In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my'own I have hereto affixed my signature in 10 presence of two witnesses.

JONATHAN D. WHITTENBURG.

' WVitnesses:

SAMUEL DIOKEY, WILLIAM TRAIL.

and the wire '5, connected to the end uprights of the two panels and to the spike c by means of a staple, d, as shown and described. 

